It was but a slip of the tongue as Twyla Tharp artfully danced around the specifics of a world premiere ballet co-commissioned by the Atlanta Ballet in one of the biggest developments in its 82-year history.
"One of the things we'll be doing when we were here ..." Tharp was saying Tuesday at a season announcement event that was being taped at Georgia Public Broadcasting studios in Midtown. The choreographer smiled and mischievously quipped, "I've thought this through. It's already in past tense!"
Well, not exactly. Tharp, who's always charging forward, was clear that there's still much work to be done on the untitled full-evening ballet that will debut in Atlanta next February and then have its Canadian premiere by Royal Winnipeg Ballet (which co-commissioned) in fall 2012.
But the verbal slip into past tense may say something about how the 69-year-old Tharp has managed to stay on dance's cutting edge while revered as an American cultural icon -- creating more than 135 works, from ballets to Broadway, and winning a Tony (for "Come Fly With Me," which premiered at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre), two Emmys, the 2004 National Medal of the Arts and a 2008 Kennedy Center Honor.
Her newest commission will be performed to the highly Romantic music of Franz Schubert with a narrative adapted from the "very Romantic and very spiritual" children's stories of Scottish author George MacDonald.
"From the very beginning it's always been about Schubert," said Tharp, who would at first glance seem too thoroughly modern to draw inspiration from the popular Austrian composer.
"What we are doing is going back to that which we have spent our entire century moving against," she explained. "We kind of find ourselves being pulled so far back in the revolution against the Romantic that I was feeling a need to look again at the Romantic."
She said she's been pondering MacDonald for 20 years, sifting through text that's more than a century old and finding a rare-for-the-times story of a girl's coming of age. "In traditional Romantic era tales, it's always a male who comes of age," Tharp said. "But there are elements in this that are timeless and they are very, very relevant."
To take it from page to stage, she's working at Atlanta Ballet's studios this week and will return later this year for five weeks to set the ballet on dancers ranging from children to professional company members, and, finally, three weeks prior to the premiere.
"It's insane to build a full-length [dance] in five weeks,," she said, undaunted.
She praised Atlanta Ballet and Royal Winnipeg for being willing to dance out on the limb with her. "They're up for an adventure," Tharp said. "I'm always up for an adventure."
Indeed, while remaining at heart a classical ballet company, Atlanta Ballet in recent seasons has been programming more adventurously, mixing in modern works, many of them premieres, that play to the company's athleticism. The 2011-12 season announced Tuesday extends the leap in the contemporary direction:
- Oct. 21-23: A revival of James Kudelka's 2010 hit "The Four Seasons" with "Eden / Eden," a futuristic work from Wayne McGregor, whose dance credits include "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and the Radiohead music video for "Lotus Flower."
- Dec. 8-24: "Nutcracker," the 52nd production of the holiday classic.
- Jan. 12-14: "Wonderland," the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's interpretation of Lewis Carroll's characters, events and themes, choreographed by Shawn Hounsell. The production is described as a "multi-sensory experience" that employs an "electro-acoustic soundscape and unexpected visual treats."
- Feb. 10-19: Twyla Tharp world premiere.
- Feb. 18: "Snow White," an hour-long family performance.
- March 23-25: Mixed repertory program featuring Christopher Wheeldon's "Rush," Jorma Elo's "First Flash" and Julia Adam's "If a Rose Falls."
- May 18-20: "Ignition: New Choreographic Voices."
All shows will be at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre except "Nutcracker" (Fox Theatre) and "Ignition" (Woodruff Arts Center's Alliance Stage). Season tickets are on sale via 404-892-3303 or www.atlantaballet.com.
